The Leveraging Artificial Intelligence to Streamline the Code of Federal Regulations Act of 2026 would require the use of an artificial intelligence system to identify redundant or outdated regulations in the Code of Federal Regulations (CFR). The Office of Management and Budget (OMB), in coordination with the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST), must implement and oversee an annual review process beginning within 90 days of enactment.
Identified regulations would be referred to the agencies that promulgated them, which must determine within 30 days whether they are outdated or redundant and, if so, rescind or amend them within 30 days. The act also expands a pathway to quickly modify or remove regulations as part of this annual review.
Why it matters: the bill introduces a formal, AI-enabled mechanism to prune the CFR of old or duplicative rules, potentially reducing regulatory burden and keeping the code current. It creates concrete deadlines, elevates interagency coordination with OMB and NIST, and modifies existing rulemaking timelines to accommodate expedited rescission or amendment when a regulation is deemed redundant or outdated.
At a Glance
What It Does
Within 90 days of enactment, OMB, with NIST, must implement an AI-driven process to identify redundant or outdated CFR regulations. The process runs annually, and identified regulations are sent to the promulgating agency for review. Agencies must determine within 30 days whether the rule is outdated or redundant, and, if so, rescind or amend it within 30 days.
Who It Affects
OMB, NIST, and the federal agencies that promulgate CFR regulations, plus the regulated community relying on CFR rules to operate, implement, and comply with federal requirements.
Why It Matters
Establishes a formal, standards-backed AI workflow to continuously prune CFR clutter, speed up regulatory maintenance, and align the CFR with current law and technology.
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What This Bill Actually Does
The bill sets up an annual, AI-assisted review of the Code of Federal Regulations. It defines key terms (agency, AI system, redundant, regulation, outdated) and assigns responsibility to OMB, in consultation with NIST, to run a process that uses an artificial intelligence system meeting strict standards to identify regulations within the CFR that are redundant or outdated.
When the AI identifies a regulation as redundant or outdated, it is referred to the agency that created the regulation for a determination. The agency must issue a final determination within 30 days of referral.
If the rule is confirmed as redundant or outdated, the agency must act within 30 days to rescind or amend the regulation, or remove it from the CFR. In all cases, these determinations must be published on the agency’s website, with a brief explanation; a classified annex to Congress is allowed if necessary.Section 4 adds an expedited pathway to make these rescissions or amendments under the existing Administrative Procedure Act, enabling faster action for regulations flagged during the annual review.
The overall goal is to keep the CFR concise, current, and free of duplicative rules, without skipping essential protections or public notice requirements.”
The Five Things You Need to Know
The bill requires an AI-driven annual CFR review to identify redundant or outdated regulations.
The review must use an AI system that meets NIST standards for accuracy, transparency, accountability, and national security risk.
Agencies must determine within 30 days whether a regulation identified as redundant or outdated is truly so.
If identified as redundant or outdated, the regulation must be rescinded or amended within 30 days by the promulgating agency.
Section 4 adds an expedited pathway to rescind or amend redundant/outdated regulations via an amendment to 5 U.S.C. 553(b).
Section-by-Section Breakdown
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Definitions
This section defines core terms used throughout the bill: 'agency' follows the 5 U.S.C. 551 definition; 'artificial intelligence system' means a machine-based system that generates outputs like predictions or recommendations; 'redundant' captures duplicative or overlapping regulations; 'regulation' aligns with the 5 U.S.C. definition of 'rule'; and 'outdated' refers to rules superseded by later laws or developments. These definitions set the legal boundaries for the review process and ensure consistency across agencies.
Annual AI Review of the CFR
The act requires the Director of the Office of Management and Budget, with input from the National Institute of Standards and Technology, to implement a process within 90 days of enactment that uses an AI system to identify redundant or outdated CFR regulations. The process must meet strict standards for accuracy, transparency, accountability, and national security risk. Each year, the same cycle repeats, with the agency responsible for the regulation reviewing the AI-identified items and making determinations about redundancy or outdated status.
Referral, Review, and Publication
A regulation identified as redundant or outdated is referred to the agency that promulgated it for review. The agency must determine within 30 days whether the rule is outdated or redundant, and the final determination is binding. The agency must publish the written determination on its website, including a brief explanation, and may submit a classified annex to Congress if needed.
Rescission and Amendment Timeline
Not later than 30 days after a regulation is determined to be redundant or outdated, the promulgating agency must rescind or remove the regulation, or amend it to bring it up to date, consistent with the existing procedural framework. This creates a tight, auditable timeline from identification to action.
Expedited Rescission and Amendment
Section 4 amends Section 553(b) of title 5 to insert a new clause allowing expedited rescission or amendment of regulations determined to be redundant or outdated as part of the annual CFR review. This codifies the fast-track mechanism and aligns it with the annual AI-driven process.
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Explore Government in Codify Search →Who Benefits and Who Bears the Cost
Every bill creates winners and losers. Here's who stands to gain and who bears the cost.
Who Benefits
- OMB and its regulatory staff who gain a clearer, auditable workflow for review and action.
- NIST for providing standards and oversight of AI system performance.
- Agencies that promulgate CFR regulations, through streamlined maintenance and reduced burden from stale rules.
- Regulated industries and compliance professionals who benefit from up-to-date and clearer regulatory requirements.
- The public benefits from a CFR that reflects current law and technology without unnecessary duplication.
Who Bears the Cost
- Agencies must allocate staff time and resources to review AI-identified items and implement changes.
- OMB and NIST incur ongoing costs to operate, monitor, and improve the AI system and its governance.
- Regulated entities may face transitional costs as rules are amended or rescinded and compliance programs adapt.
- Potential legal or policy risk if AI identifications are incorrect or misclassify regulations, prompting additional review.
- There may be short-term disruption as regulators consolidate or remove rules and adjust to updated CFR language.
Key Issues
The Core Tension
The central dilemma is balancing the speed and efficiency of AI-driven deregulation with the need to preserve essential regulatory protections and due process. The system can prune the CFR quickly, but wrong removals or premature amendments could create gaps in oversight or public harm, highlighting a trade-off between agility and safeguards.
The bill introduces a high-velocity process to identify and remove outdated or redundant CFR regulations, anchored by an AI system and overseen by OMB and NIST. This creates a leaner CFR over time, but it also relies on machine judgments about what constitutes redundancy or outdated status.
The transitional costs, potential for misclassification, and the risk of eroding long-standing regulatory protections must be weighed against the benefits of a current, clearer CFR. The publication requirement and possibility of a classified annex help maintain transparency while protecting sensitive information; however, the accelerated timelines could compress public notice and interagency deliberation in some instances.
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